In some Christian biblical interpretations, Ishmael is used to symbolize the older—now rejected—Judaic tradition; Isaac symbolizes the new tradition of Christianity.
According to the Genesis account, Hagar ran away from the house of Abram, (as he was not yet renamed, Abraham). Sarai's (also not yet given her new name, Sarah, by God) harsh treatment of Hagar, after being treated with contempt by her, caused her to flee. She then was visited by an Angel of the Lord at the well of Beer-lahai-roi, which means, "well of the Living One who sees me" (Gen 16:14). He instructed her to return to Abraham's house and give birth to her son, who she was to call Ishmael ("God hears")(Gen 16:11-12). So she returned and gave Abraham a son in his 86th year (Gen 16:15-16).
In the book of Galatians (4:21–31), Paul uses the incident to symbolize the relationship between Judaism, the older but now rejected tradition, and Christianity. In Galatians 4:28–31, Hagar is associated with the Sinai covenant, while Sarah is associated with the covenant of grace into which her son Isaac enters.
In Genesis 16, the birth of Ishmael was planned by the Patriarch Abraham's first wife, who at that time was known as Sarai. She and her husband Abram (Abraham) sought a way to have children in order to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant that was established in Genesis 15. Since Sarai was 75 years old and had yet to bear Abraham a child, her idea was to offer her Egyptian handmaiden Hagar to Abraham, so that they could have a child by her. So Sarai, Abraham's wife, took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife in order to conceive a child when he was in his late 85th year of age. Customs of that time dictated that, although Hagar was the birth mother, any child conceived would belong to Sarai and Abram (Sarah and Abraham)
Genesis 16:7-16 describes the naming of Ishmael, and God's promise to Hagar concerning Ishmael and his descendants. This occurred at the well of Beer-lahai-roi, located in the desert region between Abraham’s settlement and Shur. Hagar fled here after Sarai dealt harshly with her for showing contempt for her mistress following her having become pregnant. Here, Hagar encountered an angel of God who instructed her to return and be submissive to Sarai so that she could have her child there.
The blessing that this child's father was promised was that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the dust of the earth. However, the promise would be to a son of Sarai; yet God would make of this child a great nation, who would be named Ishmael, because he was of the seed of Abraham. However God also said regarding Ishmael specifically that he will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers. When Ishmael was born, Abraham was 86 years old.
When he was 13 years old, Ishmael was circumcised at the same time as all other males in Abraham's house becoming a part of the covenant in a mass circumcision.
According to the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 17:10-14) God commanded the Biblical patriarch Abraham to be circumcised, an act to be followed by his descendants:
10 This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee: every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant betwixt Me and you. 12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any foreigner, that is not of thy seed. 13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised; and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken My covenant.
His father Abram, given the new name "Abraham," was also at this time, at the age of 99, initiated into the covenant by having himself and the males of his entire household circumcised. (Genesis 17)
At the time of
the covenant, God informed Abraham that his wife Sarah would give birth
to a son, which he was instructed to name Isaac. God told Abraham that
He would establish his covenant through Isaac, and when Abraham inquired
as to Ishmael's role, God answers that Ishmael has been blessed and
that He "will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly;
twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation." (Genesis 17)A year later, Ishmael's half-brother Isaac was born to Abraham by his first wife Sarah when she was 90 years old (Genesis 17:17), after she had ceased showing any signs of fertility.(Genesis 18:11)
On the day of feasting during which Abraham celebrated the weaning of Isaac, Ishmael was "mocking" or "playing with" Isaac (the Hebrew word is ambiguous) and Sarah asked Abraham to expel Ishmael and his mother, saying: "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
This proposition was grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son and the bondwoman, Hagar. Abraham only agreed when God told him that "for in Isaac your seed shall be called", and that He would "make a nation of the son of the bondwoman" Ishmael, since he was a descendant of Abraham.
(Genesis 21:11–13)
Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert, by Grigory Ugryumov (c. 1785)
Hagar entered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba where the two soon ran out of water and Hagar, not wanting to witness the death of her son, set the boy some distance away from herself, and wept.
"And God heard the voice of the lad" and sent his angel to tell Hagar, "Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation." And God "opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water", from which she drew to save Ishmael's life and her own. "And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer." (Genesis 21:14–21)
In Judaism, Ishmael has generally been viewed as wicked, though repentant (whereas Christianity omits any reference to repentance, which is sourced in the Talmudic explanation of the Hebrew Bible). Judaism maintains that Isaac rather than Ishmael was the true heir of Abraham.
In some Rabbinic traditions Ishmael is said to have had two wives; one of them named Aisha. This name corresponds to the Muslim tradition for the name of Muhammad's wife. This is understood as a metaphoric representation of the Muslim world (first Arabs and then Turks) with Ishmael.
The name of an important 2nd century CE sage—Ishmael ben Elisha, known as "Rabbi Ishmael" (רבי ישמעאל), one of the Tannaim—indicates that the Biblical Ishmael enjoyed a positive image among Jews of the time.[citation needed]
Rabbinical commentators in the Midrash Genesis Rabbah also say that Ishmael's mother Hagar was the Pharaoh's daughter, thereby making Ishmael the grandson of the Pharaoh.
This could be why Genesis 17:20 refers to Ishmael as the father of 12 mighty princes. According to Genesis 21:21, Hagar married Ishmael to an Egyptian woman, and if Rabbinical commentators are correct about Hagar being the daughter of the Pharaoh, his marriage to a woman selected by the Pharaoh's daughter could explain how and why his sons became princes.
However, according to other Jewish commentators, Ishmael's mother Hagar is identified with Keturah, the woman Abraham married after the death of Sarah, stating that Abraham sought her out after Sarah's death. It is suggested that Keturah was Hagar's personal name, and that "Hagar" was a descriptive label meaning "stranger".
This interpretation is discussed in the Midrash and is supported by Rashi, Gur Aryeh, Keli Yakar, and Obadiah of Bertinoro. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Itzhaki) argues that "Keturah" was a name given to Hagar because her deeds were as beautiful as incense (hence: ketores), and/or that she remained chaste from the time she was separated from Abraham—keturah [ קְטוּרָה Q'turah ] derives from the Aramaic word for restrained.
It is also said that Sarah was motivated by Ishmael's sexually frivolous ways because of the reference to his "making merry" (Gen. 21:9), a translation of the Hebrew word "Mitzachek". This was developed into a reference to idolatry, sexual immorality or even murder; some rabbinic sources claim that Sarah worried that Ishmael would negatively influence Isaac, or that he would demand Isaac's inheritance on the grounds of being the firstborn.
Regarding the word "Mitzachek" (again in Gen. 21:9) The Jewish Study Bible by Oxford University Press says this word in this particular context is associated with; "Playing is another pun on Isaac's name (cf. 17.17; 18.12; 19.14; 26.8). Ishmael was 'Isaacing', or 'taking Isaac's place'."
Also others take a more positive view, emphasizing Hagar's piety, noting that she was "the one who had sat by the well and besought him who is the life of the worlds, saying 'look upon my misery'".
After roaming the wilderness for some time, Ishmael and his mother settled in the Desert of Paran, where he became an expert in archery. Eventually, his mother found him a wife from the land of Egypt. They had twelve sons who each became tribal chiefs throughout the regions from Havilah to Shur (from Assyria to the border of Egypt). His sons were:
- Nebaioth (נבית) Nabit (means First-born or First Fruit in Arabic نبيت or نبيط pronounced Nabeet)
- Kedar (קדר), (in Arabic قيدر pronounced Qaidar) father of the Qedarites, a northern Arab tribe that controlled the area between the Persian Gulf and the Sinai Peninsula. According to tradition, he is the ancestor of the Quraysh tribe, and thus of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.
- Adbeel (אדבאל), established a tribe in northwest Arabia.
- Mibsam (מבשם) (means Smiley in Arabic مبسم pronounced Mubsem)
- Mishma (משמע) (means Obeyed in Arabic مسموع pronounced Masmou')
- Dumah (דומה) (means Sand-Hill in Arabic دومه Doomah)
- Massa (משא) (means Night Fall in Arabic مساء pronounced Masa') father of a nomadic tribe that inhabited the Arabian desert toward Babylonia.
- Hadad (חדד) (means The Rolling-Stone one of the many names of Lion in Arabic حيدر pronounced Haidar)
- Tema (תימא) (means "The Good News" or "The Right Hand Man" in Arabic تيمن pronounced Tayman)
- Jetur (יטור) (means Revolt or "Rebel" in Arabic يثور pronounced Yathur)
- Naphish (נפיש) (means Genuine or Precious in Arabic نفيس pronounced Nafees)
- Kedemah (קדמה) (means The Front Man or "Scout" in Arabic قدامه pronounced Qudamah)
Ishmael also appeared with Isaac at the burial of Abraham. Ishmael died at the age of 137.
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